Pesky C&R enforcers!

[mattooty]

Is anyone else sick to death of reading an absolutely top post with some brilliant LEGAL catches only to have them shot down and have the post completely hijacked by "Good citizens?"
For khrists sake blokes, (and lovely ladies if you're reading), if you don't agree with a fish someone has taken then by all means voice your opinion but do it politely and without downgrading their catch.
If you're really so passionate about you're local fish stocks then do something about it. Don't sit on a forum hiding behind a keyboard and flame people for their catches, you aren't teaching them anything, just scaring off new members and putting old reliable knowlegable members into hiding!
Go out and make your voice heard by either voicing your opinions to fisheries or do your own studies to prove just how valuable a fish is, or how rare they are. Take for example the 70cm+ flathead rule, that wouldn't be in place if it hadn't been extensively researched. They found that the larger flathead were top order breeding females, so the law was introduced. But get real guys, a lot of larger fish are PAST their peak breeding stage in life, some are even sterile like in the case of the upper end Barra. A Threadfin salmon, while it may be hard to catch, are not remotely rare in the Brissie river. A good sized Jew is even less heard of yet doesn't have such a following as the Threadies. Why? Because a few people put threadies on a pedestal and judge all others who take them.
Get out there and make a difference if you're such a conservationist.
Change the world, not intimidate people.
for everyones sake, stop flaming a good fisherman who keeps a good catch because he is legally able to do so.
Now I've got that out of me,I'm off to capture some metre plus flatties....

Matt

Oh and by the way, I practice catch and release regularly but you will never see me releasing a fish if I want a feed.

[mik01]

yeah its a shame really.
if its legal then, even if you don't agree, you should really shut up with negative opinions on the topic.
but its typical of a growing epidemic on here to flame others and take cheap shots from behind the keyboard.

[Noelm]

fully agree, I really don't care of a "Trophy" fish is taken, as long as it is going to be eaten or used for bait or something useful, kind of gets up my Nose when I see Fish dumped at the Ramp for a variety of reasons, too many to clean, did not look after them whatever, if you want it, it is Legal, then so be it, if you are a catch and release person, then so be it, I have done it thousands of times, but I am also not adverse to eating Fish, so I keep my share, and might even give a couple away if I know someone who needs some fresh fish.

[Noelm]

and as a side note, I do not see much sense in catching a Shark, hanging it up at a contest, then towing it out to sea and dumping it! (and I am guilty of just such practice) but that's a whole new story that will raise the Blood Pressure of a lot of the Game Fishing crew out there.

[fish-n-dive]

Yep, gotta agree with mattooty here.

This is a fishing forum.........not a "lets go green" forum. Thats not to imply that fishos aren't green.............quite the opposite in fact.

I often wonder why some people are here when there are much better forums to puff themselves up on elsewhere!!

We fish to eat, we fish to relax, we fish with mates for companionship and yes we fish to break records............there is no fault in any of those reasons If you think so change hobby's............

[JEWIENEWIE]

Well said mate, by the way, that fish in your avtar isnt it a bit big.......... .
On a serious side, i for one think it is terrible the way that some one gets a fish of a life time, wants to share his joy and excitement with like minded people. They make a post, sit back eagerly awaiting peoples praises and responses only to be bagged about it...............
some times opinions are like a STD disease, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF.
Jewie

[T1]

Thanks MATTOOTY! I see this Thread going the same way as every other one that's been started on this topic - 20 pages and nothing achieved...

The C&R crew are like the Greenies - set in their ways and not open to anything outside their own small thought processes - hence the need for them to jump in and contribute - makes them feel like something worthwhile - 'save the fish', save the whales', 'save the turtles'! I have a suggestion, how about they save us some oxygen and breathe elswewhere?

I practice CPR regularly - Catch, Pash & Release... into my Esky!

Take Care T

[fish-n-dive]

I practice CPR regularly - Catch, Pash & Release... into my Esky!

LMAO.........might have to change my signature to that one!!!

[mattooty]

Jewienewie, my fish is to big? Isn't yours a breeder? That should have been released!

T1- I know i've read a few posts every so often but i feel that we all need a reminder to keep us on our toes instead of flaming members. It is also in ausfishes best interests to keep flaming to a minimum as less members means less advertising dollars.

[kind_cir]

I fish to catch a feed and don't pratice catch and release on fish over the size limit. With the exception of Bream, and Whiting, which I impose my own size limit of 25cm as I think at 23cm you don't get a decent fillet. Personally I think going out and praticing C&R is a little crule for me. If others wan't to do that, fine I won't hold it against them.
If I did not do, what I do, I would buy fish from the shop.

[HIGH and DRY]

the way i see it, this is the whole reason we have size and bag limits. If there was a problem with a species being overfished etc. etc, im sure the authorities will step in and do something about it, I spose as they are doing to some extent at the moment. If you are not breaking the law, you should have nothing to be put down about!

We don't have an emotional meltdown because you are throwing perfectly good fish back. If thats what your into, that sweet, but don't bag out another blokes top effort

pete

[JEWIENEWIE]

errrrrrrrrrrr........................maybe mate but i thought with a head like that, no one would want to breed with that ugly girl, thought i was doing the snapper population a favour. And i dont believe in ethnic cleansing.

[kingtin]

The C&R crew are like the Greenies - set in their ways and not open to anything outside their own small thought processes - hence the need for them to jump in and contribute - makes them feel like something worthwhile - 'save the fish', save the whales', 'save the turtles'! I have a suggestion, how about they save us some oxygen and breathe elswewhere?

I know what you're driving at T, but a "slip of the tongue" can cause mayhem on this topic and has done before.

There are some damn good fishos and some top blokes here, who practice catch and release. They impart knowledge to their fellow fishos and rarely utter a word when someone claims bragging rights. It's only the odd one who tar the rest. They are invariably the ones who post bugger all except when they catch something decent, and then they only post with little knowledge imparted and they seem to post only the "what a good boy am I" message. Let's not get it out of proportion.............they are few and far between but negative messages seem to linger so it seems that there are a lot of them. The vast majority of C&R guys are a credit to this site and the "preachers" are simply a whingeing, spiteful minority.

kev

[banshee]

Thanks MATTOOTY! I see this Thread going the same way as every other one that's been started on this topic - 20 pages and nothing achieved...

The C&R crew are like the Greenies - set in their ways and not open to anything outside their own small thought processes - hence the need for them to jump in and contribute - makes them feel like something worthwhile - 'save the fish', save the whales', 'save the turtles'! I have a suggestion, how about they save us some oxygen and breathe elswewhere?

I practice CPR regularly - Catch, Pash & Release... into my Esky!

Take Care T

Why wouldn't the thread turn to shit after a comment like that?Seems your doing your best to fire things up,wake up to your self.

[CreelReaper]

Yep, I see it as an ever increasing problem right across the board in our society today. Doesn't matter if it is fishing or riding the trail bike through the bush or what ever.
There is always going to be someone out there that doesn't agree with what we do. Unfortunately a lot of it stems from misinformation that is readily available and bombarded upon us all too regularly. Even with c & r it can be argued to and fro that the fish experiences the same drama whether kept or not.
Regrettably a lot of people have lost sight in the fact that we live in a democratic, free society where we have choices and most of us choose to catch and eat our own fish. I too have released a lot of keeper fish over the years, it is one reason that I prefer to keep caught fish alive until I am heading for home. One fish in the esky just doesn't feed the family and therefore is released to live and fight another day.
Do these same people complain when the cow or chicken is killed to feed them and their families??? Some people have even claimed that plants have feelings too so there goes our diets....what is there left to eat???? Where does it stop????